Happy Halloween
by mustachey5
Summary: Halloween in the McGarrett household featuring the McRoll children! OR Steve is out of his depth but really tries and Catherine is completely calm about everything. Enjoy!


_Sorry this is late- my latop crapped out yesterday and so this all got delayed :( I totally just prompted myself- I'm really cool like that. Future fic, some McRoll family fun, Steve just being Steve really only with kids and Catherine just there being chill and reasonable. Enjoy and do review ;)_

* * *

 **Happy Halloween**

 _McGarrett Children:_

 _Benjamin Koa (16)_

 _Evelyn Niele (14)_

 _John Makaio (10)_

 _Hannah Kalia (6)_

* * *

"I said no" Steve repeated, looking up at his eldest child who stood in the bedroom doorway.

"But Dad you don't understand" Ben pleaded

"No." Steve said for what felt like the thousandth time. They'd been arguing over Ben's plans to go to the mainland with a group of friends the following Summer.

"Why not? I'm 16 I can look after myself." Ben continued and Steve sighed, it had been a long day running round after the kids and his patience was tiring. The kids had the day off from school today and he'd volunteered to stay at home while Cath went in to work. He was really beginning to regret that decision, give him serial killers any day.

"16 is still a child Benjamin, you can't even turn the washing machine on." Steve argued

"I won't need to use a washing machine, we're going on holiday."

"No you're not."

"Mom would let me." Ben pouted

"Benjamin Koa McGarrett, I swear if I hear another word..." Steve's rant was cut short by the sound of retching from further down the hallway. Steve pushed past Ben and ran down the hallway stopping in the doorway of John's room. He'd been sick. Again.

"I'm sorry Dad.." Steve sighed as he surveyed the damage, they'd need to change the bed sheets. Again.

"It's fine. You still feel sick?" He asked the boy as he helped him out of his vomit covered t-shirt.

"No, I think that's all of it." John replied weakly, the eleven year old was on the smaller side for his age, his hair was fair like his aunt Mary's , but with a slight curl to it. He, like his younger sister had their mother's eyes- and like their mother they had him wrapped round their little fingers.

"Okay, you go jump in the shower and I'll deal with this. Shout if you need me or if you start to feel sick again." Steve said dropping a kiss to his sons head as he watched him wander down the hallway to the bathroom.

"Daddy? Can you do my hair now?" A small head appeared round the doorway. Steve looked up and she stood there, her halloween dress in one hand and her hairbrush in another, thrust out towards him like an offering.

"Can you get Evie to do it?" Steve suggested as he turned back to survey the mess and winced- they would need to clean the carpet too, it almost surprised Steve how much vomit could come from such a small child.

"But I want you too." Hannah whined, sticking her bottom lip out in her best attempt of a pout. Steve looked at her and nodded.

"Just give me 5 minutes to get everything cleaned up and I'll be right there." He promised

"Okay" She beamed and skipped away, her costume trailing behind her. Steve gathered the soiled sheets up quickly, trying to avoid stepping in any of the puddles on the floor and headed downstairs. He'd just finished loading the washing machine when he heard the lanai door creak open. He stuck his head round the door to see what was going on.

"Where do you think you're going?" Evie froze, her hand on the door, her father's booming voice stopping her in her tracks.

"Out?" She replied turning slowly to face him. Steve looked her up and down and took a deep breath.

"What the hell is that?"

"It's a dress Dad." She said slowly

"Where's the rest of it?" He asked, barely resisting the urge to snap at her. She was all him, from the hair and the eyes all the way down to the death glare. She'd inherited it all. Unfortunately this meant that any time the pair had a disagreement, usually over Evie's choice of attire, the argument would go on for ages, neither one of them willing to back down.

"Daad" She moaned but he put his hand up to cut her off.

"Back inside, now." He ordered and she shut the door, pushing past him to head into the kitchen.

"I'm going to be late." She muttered

"Just as well you're not going then isn't it?" Steve smiled at her, locking the lanai door behind him and pocketing the key.

"But Dad!"

"What's Evie done now?" Ben asked as he stuck his head round the door.

"Shut up Ben." She snapped and Steve quickly stepped between them before anyone could throw a punch.

"Don't tell your brother shut up" Steve ordered pointing a finger at her and she glared at him in response, before he turned to his son.

"And you stay of it. Go upstairs and check on John would you, there are fresh sheets in the cupboard to remake his bed." He ordered, Ben just nodded and disappeared back upstairs.

"Everyone is going to be there Dad" She continued, her voice a desperate plea now.

"Everyone except you."

"Dad! This isn't funny." She whined as he rolled his eyes, his retort was cut off by the sound of the front door opening as Catherine returned home. He'd never been so happy to see her before.

"Hello?" She called out, dropping her bag onto the old sofa as she let her hair down, running a hand through it.

"In here." Steve called out and she followed his voice.

"That's a nice dress sweetheart" Cath greeted as she entered the kitchen before reaching up to give Steve a peck on the cheek.

"Thank god you're home." Steve muttered, returning her kiss.

"Was it really that bad?" She asked, looking round in slight concern but seeing nothing particularly out of the ordinary. Steve simply shook his head.

"I have no idea how you get anything done. I think the dishwasher is broken, the sink in the bathroom is leaking again. Oh and John's still pretty sick, but he says he's feeling better" Steve said with a sigh.

"He'll be demanding candy in the morning I bet you" Cath smiled she traces her fingers across his forehead, following the grooves and lines, he's tired, exhausted from running round after the kids all day. Her soothing touch calmed him slightly, the frown lines fading.

"How was work?" He asked, his voice hushed so that Evie wouldn't hear. They tried to avoid discussing work in front of the kids due to the nature of most of their cases.

"Good actually, we managed to get it all wrapped up by lunch and got started on some of the paper work." She said, nodding happily. It was rare to have such straight forward days.

"Good, why don't you go have a bath, I bought you some more of that fizzy stuff that you use." He suggested and she smiled at him.

"Fizzy stuff? Do you mean bubble bath?" She laughed but smiled at him in thanks. Steve opened his mouth to speak again but could see Evie, from the corner of his eye, trying to creep slowly out of the room.

"Get back here Evelyn, I haven't finished speaking to you." Steve said and she sighed, moving back into the room.

"What's the dress for? I'm assuming that's what you two were arguing about" Catherine asked , turning back to face her daughter and Evie smiled at her before scowling at her father.

"Lia's party, but Dad won't let me go."

"one, you tried to sneak out. Two, you are 14 I'm not letting you go off to some house party on your own. And three, _that_ is not a dress." Steve repeated, waving his hands towards her.

"Yes it is."

"Okay, lets not start that up again. Evie could you go to your room while I talk to your father please?" Catherine interrupted before the argument could escalate.

"I haven't done anything wrong though mom.. You said I could go to Lia's" She whined, barely resisting the urge to stamp her foot, this was so unfair.

"Now Evelyn."

"This is ridiculous." Evie muttered as she stormed out the room and Catherine sighed before turning back to her husband who looked equally defeated.

"It's almost impossible to believe that is the same kid as the one who used to bring insects into the house so they wouldn't get wet in the rain." Steve sighed, watching her march upstairs.

"Welcome to having a teenage daughter. So what's your problem with the party? She told me about it earlier this week and I said she could go, it's literally just down the road, she'll be fine." She asked, leaning against the counter.

"Then why didn't she tell me? Why was she sneaking out the back door?" He asked

"That is a question for her and not me. Steve, she's been to parties before, why are you kicking up such a fuss over this one?" She asked and he folded his arms across his chest the frown returning to his face.

"I don't want her going out. What if there's alcohol there?"

"She is a sensible girl, the house is literally a block away, and she has a competition coming up, she would never risk doing something stupid when she has a competition so close. Let her go, have a bit of fun, she's less than 5 minutes away if anything does happen, which it won't. She's been training really hard recently, let her go out with her friends and enjoy herself. It's not like they would be unsupervised anyway, Lia's parents are both home so there will definitely not be any alcohol." Catherine reasoned, stepping closer to Steve and running her hands down his tense arms, slowly prying his arms open so she could slip between them, pulling him into a hug.

"Her dress is too short." He muttered into hair though she could feel him relaxing against her as she ran her hands up and down his back.

"It's not that bad Steve." Catherine replied, pulling back to look at his face which was still screwed up in what Danny still called his aneurysm face.

"She was texting a boy the other day." He eventually spat out and Catherine smiled, finally understanding the reason her husband had reverted to over protective father mode. He was normally far more relaxed with Evie's social life, she was a mature and sensible girl and they trusted her. But Steve was beginning to struggle with the fact his little girl was growing up and some things, such as boys, made him completely flip out and panic.

"That's what teenage girls do babe. How do you even know that.. you didn't go through her messages again" Catherine sighed and Steve had the decency to look a little guilty.

"It was an accident." He said, those it sounded more like a question than a statement

"You don't accidentally read someone else's text messages Steven."

"His father has a record."

"You ran a background check on your daughter's crush?" She asked in utter disbelief.

"I don't want her talking to him."

"Steve you are being ridiculous."

"No I'm not, she shouldn't be texting him."

"Steve they're just texting..."

"Yeah and what then Cath, she's 14.."

"Exactly Steve. She is 14. Calm down, okay. She has a bit of a crush on a boy in her class, so what? I would understand your concern if she were Been's age but she's not she's 14. Just let her be 14." Catherine pleads and Steve opens his mouth to respond but is cut off by the sound of John calling out.

"Dad?" He called again, a hint of panic in his voice. They left the kitchen and found him walking slowly down the stairs.

"You alright buddy?" Steve asked as he jogged up the steps to meet him and the little boy shook his head.

"My tummy really hurts." Steve placed his palm against his forehead and looked down at Cath.

"I think his temperature has got worse." He said a little worried as he looked down at the boy.

"You think you're going to be sick?" Steve asked, rubbing his hand up and down John's back. John shook his head, a sad expression on his face.

"Okay, well lets take you back up to bed and mommy will get you some medicine" Steve suggested and John nodded slightly, looping his arms round Steve's neck as Steve lifted him into his arms. He carried him up the stairs and gently placed him in his bed.

"How's my little soldier doing?" Catherine asked as she stepped into the room, a thermometer and medicine in her hands.

"Sailor mommy, not a soldier." John corrected and Steve beamed with pride.

"That's my little man" He grinned as he pulled the covers up and tucked them under his sons chin.

"You go talk to Evie and I'll deal with John." Catherine said, as she sat down next to him on the bed and Steve nodded, placing a kiss on John's forehead. He trudged down the hallway and knocked on the the door lightly, when he heard a grunt in response he pushed the door open. She sat on the bed, facing the door, a glum look on her face.

"Hey" Steve greeted.

"Hi" She responded meekly

"I'm sorry I was rude Dad"

"And I'm sorry I snapped at you. But you can't just go sneaking out."

"Mom said I could go."

"Then why were you sneaking out?" He asked and she huffed.

"Because you get funny about me going to parties, which is really unfair because you never argue about Ben going out." She said , folding her arms across her chest.

"Ben is older than you."

"And when he was my age? You never stopped him going to parties, but you'll never let me go out, it's really unfair." She turned to him and he sighed.

"I don't do it to be unfair. I do it because I worry." He explained but she just shook her head.

"You don't trust me." She muttered

"It's not you I don't trust sweetheart. I'm a cop, I know what sort of people are out there, that prey on girls like you. I just worry about you that's all." He said, turning her head back to face him.

"I'm only going down the road dad." She said, rolling her eyes slightly but there was no attitude behind it.

"Sometimes that's all it takes" He said, brushing a thumb across her cheek.

"If you drop me off there am I allowed to go?" She suggested and Steve sighed, thinking back to the discussion he and Catherine had just had.

"I will drop you off when me and Hannah go trick or treating. And I will pick you up at 10 o'clock on the dot."

"10 o'clock?" She whined but he cut her off.

"You have training again tomorrow honey, any later and you'll be turning up tired, what use is a sleepy gymnast?" He teased and she nodded, agreeing.

"You still coming to my competition?" She asked and he smiled, leaning over and pulling her in for a hug.

"Of course, we'll all be there. We wouldn't miss it for the world" He said and she smiled, squeezing him a little tighter. Maybe his baby girl wasn't completely gone just yet.

"What time are we leaving?" She asked and Steve glanced at his watch

"I need to do Hannah's hair and then we should be good to go. Just enough time for you to put some more clothes on" He smiled at her and she sighed.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing now?" She complained

"If you want to go out you put something else on. If you want to wear that you can stay home and help mom look after John." Steve said and she sighed, standing up and opening the doors to her wardrobe.

"Fine."

 _._

 _._

Steve fiddles and struggles with the hair tie, eventually managing to secure the two braids in place. He sits back to admire his work, the braids are wonky and one is far shorter than the other but it doesn't look too bad. He turns her to look at him, hoping it may look slightly better from the front- it doesn't. Her soft brown hair sticks out from the braids and he can see that one of them is starting to fall apart already. She smiles happily up at him, glitter smeared on her cheeks, forehead and neck, though her princess dress has miraculously survived the glitter assault.

"How do I look?" She asked and he smiled at her, pinching her cheek softly

"Like a beautiful princess." He replied and she laughed at him

"I'm a _fairy_ princess dad." She sighed, turning round to show him her wings again.

"Silly me" He smiled, reaching out to touch her wings but she spins round before he can.

"You can't touch them Daddy, then they won't work anymore. That's what the lady at the butterfly house said. If you touch their wings then they can't fly anymore." She explained slowly and Steve nodded along.

"So you're a butterfly fairy princess?" He asked and she shook her head, sighing in exasperation in the way that only a 6 year old could.

"No Daddy. I'm a fairy princess, but fairies and butterflies have the same wings. So you can't touch my wings or they won't work, just like the butterflies" She explained slowly to him.

"Oh, okay" Steve nodded, smiling.

"What are you going to be dad?" She asked

"I don't have a costume Ipo." He explained, hoping to get away with a shrug and acceptance. He was not in luck.

"But you have to dress up dad." She said in horror

"Sweetheart..."

"You can wear my other wings, you can be a fairy princess too, I'll help you put some glitter on as well" She suggested her face lighting up in excitement. Steve sighed in defeat and nodded, letting her lead him upstairs.

.

.

"Looking handsome" Catherine teased as she made her way back into the kitchen, opening up the cupboard to put the thermometer away. John had finally dropped off to sleep and she'd just finished helping Ben with his homework. It was one of the routines that she loved, and one of the few times she got to really spend some one on one time with her eldest.

"Why thank you." Steve said, turning round to face her, his face glittering slightly and she smiled. Hannah had him completely wrapped round her little finger.

"You make such a wonderful prince" She teased and he laughed, walking over to her and slipping his arms round her waist.

" _Fairy_ prince actually" He corrected her and she nodded her approval, poking the tiny wings Hannah had forced him into.

"Don't touch my wings" He muttered and she laughed, pulling him down for a kiss instead.

"Ewww, dad that's so gross" Evie cried, throwing her hand across her eyes and they pulled apart.

"Why am I being told off, she kissed me?" Steve asked in indignation

"Just stop, you're old. Old people don't kiss." Evie said, turning her back to them

"Old?" Steve repeats and Catherine simply laughs.

"Yeah, parents shouldn't kiss or touch or just eww." She squeaked, rummaging through the cupboards in search of a snack.

"How on earth do you think you, or your siblings got here sweetheart?" Steve asked bluntly and Catherine snorted beside him.

"Daaaaddd, that's gross." She whined.

"Go put your shoes on and I'll meet you by the door." Steve instructed, ushering her from the room.

"Have fun" Catherine said, pulling him in for a final kiss.

"I'll try" He grinned and followed Evie from the room. Hannah was still sat on the floor in the living room, watching cartoons. Steve cleared his throat and she looked up expectantly.

"My dear fairy princess? Your fairy prince is ready." He said with a bow and she laughed happily, jumping off the sofa and grabbing his hand. For all his reservations about dressing up, especially in wings and glitter, the look of sheer joy and happiness that it put on her face made it all worth it. He just hoped and prayed they didn't run into anyone they knew.

"Ready to go?" He asked and she nodded before practically dragging him through the door.

.

.

"Is John okay?" Steve asked as he flicked off the bathroom light and crawled into bed.

"Yeah, his temperature has finally dropped and he managed to keep some soup down" Catherine nodded as he slipped his arm round her waist, snuggling up behind her and pressed a soft kiss behind her ear.

"Did you and Hannah have fun?" She asked, smiling as he continued to drop kisses down her neck.

"Mmm" He nodded into hair, his hands moving up her sides, slipping underneath her t-shirt.

"She's a complete daddy's girl, you know that right. She thinks you're the best thing ever" Catherine smiled, obliging him as he pushed her flat on her back.

"What do you think?" He asked, leaning over her, his weight supported by his forearms.

"You're okay." She shrugged and he laughed, kissing her firmly on the lips as he pushed her top up. She laughed against his mouth and pushed him over, flipping them so that she sat across his hips.

"Did you lock the door." She asked and he grinned

"Yep." He replied.

"Good" She smiled, leaning down to kiss him again, her hand moving from neck to caress the side of his face.

"I love you" Steve whispered breathlessly

"I love you too" She smiled, pulling away from his lips and propping herself up. She looked down at him and smiled, delicately running her hand across his face, touching the lines around his eyes and on his forehead, smoothing them out.

"What are you doing" He asked, his hands moving down to rest at her hips.

"Nothing" She shrugged smiling as she kissed his forehead. After all these years she could still barely believe that this beautiful man was hers.

"I honestly don't know how you every get anything done round the house, it always seems to descend into chaos when I look after the kids." He said as he flipped them back over, pulling his own t-shirt over his head.

"Can't keep up with the kids? You getting slow in your old age?" She teased and he looked at her.

"Are you _seriously_ accusing me of being old right now?" He asked

"You're getting on." She said, barely suppressing her laughter.

"Ouch." Steve said, rubbing his chest with a look of mock hurt on his face

"You know I love you." She said, kissing him softly

"You wound me." He pouted

"I mean you don't look that bad for four kids. Wrinkles suit you." She teased, reaching up and brushing her fingers across his forehead again.

"Says you." Steve muttered, a cheeky grin on his face.

"I beg your pardon sailor." Catherine said in indignation and Steve just grinned at her, leaning down for a kiss but she held him away, an eyebrow quirked in expectation.

"I said you look fantastic, could never tell you've had four kids. Not a wrinkle in sight" He said, putting on his most charming smile.

"I thought so" she said glaring at him though her heart wasn't in it. She reached up again to touch his face and Steve paused, smiling at her.

"Now where were we?"


End file.
